|
Post by Ish Kabbible on Jul 19, 2015 14:53:18 GMT -5
The Deer Hunter (1978) Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, Meryl Streep, Jon Savage, John Cazale
Have not watched this since it's theatrical release. 3 hour epic film starting in a small industrial Pennsylvania town with a group of blue collar friends. De Niro, Walken and Savage will soon be going to fight in Vietnam. Right before that happens theres a wedding for Savage and a final deer hunt for the group. That's the first hour of the movie. The wedding scene is overlong and director Cimino overindulges himself with setting the story
Suddenly we're in Vietnam and the trio has been captured by the Viet Cong. This middle section is one of the most riveting scenes in movie history depicting the torture and escape. The Russian Roulette game is an all time classic of suspense and acting. The movie captured the Best Picture Oscar on the basis of this section
The final hour or so depicts the adjustment to civilian life so many Viet vets had to struggle with. Between this movie and Coming Home with Jon Voight, it was the first time Hollywood took a look at the aftermath of the Vietnam war
The cast is amazing. The middle section is an all time classic. If Cimino knew how to rein in his vision with tighter cuts to the opening and some at the close, this movie would deserve a 10 star rating. Instead Cimino went on to produce an even longer movie, Heaven's Gate, that bankrupted a movie studio, ended Cimino's career for a long time and sounded the death knell for the all powerful director auteur
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 19, 2015 15:56:36 GMT -5
The Concorde..Airport '79 ... Has some corny, but effective romance of Alain Delon and Sylvia Kristel that seems to rub off to my girlfriend more and than to me. But, they did it with some class with some well placed dialogue of which it was appropiate for this movie.
|
|
|
Post by Roquefort Raider on Jul 20, 2015 8:14:02 GMT -5
Angry Red Planet can be seen on Youtube for who knows how long, but I got the chance to see this late 50s SF tale once again yesterday afternoon (the first time being in 1971, at a friend's house, a day I mostly remember because a wasp stung me later in the early evening. Our fault, we were messing with the critters' nest).
There's something very endearing about old SF films like these, which are often less cheesy than one would expect. There is a sense of optimism to them, a generally accepted idea that mankind would pretty soon explore space, with dedicated and honest astronauts (the mandatory evil capitalist, foreign spy, incompetent officer and psychologically deranged crew mate would appear a little later in the history of the genre).
Naturally the science is a little loopy, even when the writers try to do their homework. In this movie the characters do acknowledge the lag in communications between Earth and Mars, but grossly overestimate it ("wait until it takes hours to receive a message"--- even though at its farthest, Mars could be reached by radio in a little more than 20 minutes). But it doesn't matter, the important is that it all sounds authentic.
The planet Mars reached for the first time by our valiant crew of four can be a dangerous place, with things like man-eating plants, giant amoebas and a cool-looking giant rat-spider-crab. The Martian scenes are shot with a red filter that gives the place a weird, very alien look (and makes characters look like silent movie actors). The use of animation or of hand-drawn creatures and backgrounds can be a little jarring, but in all honesty I don't find them worse than the obvious CGI that permeates modern productions. Sure it looks dated, but it's not as if this was a 2001-type film with aspirations to look real.
All in all, it's an enjoyable corny film that's a bit like a long episode of The Outer Limits.
(Oh, and I'm pretty sure that an alien we saw in DC's Time Warp was a homage to the Martians seen here. I'd have to go check the story again).
|
|
|
Post by Ish Kabbible on Jul 20, 2015 13:47:01 GMT -5
A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) Marlon Brando, Vivien Leigh, Karl Malden, Kim Hunter
Blanche Dubois has lost her job and home. She arrives in New Orleans to move in with her pregnant sister Stella and her husband Stanley. Blanche fancies herself as a southern gentlewoman, erudite and prone to making up stories. Stanley is a blue collar, hard drinking brute. They do not get along from the start.
64 years later and its still one of the greatest films. The dialogue sparkles and can be seen repeated times with new appreciation. This was Brando's 2nd film and it made him an American Film icon, Vivien Leigh is unforgettable as Blanche. Definitely a film to be seen before you die.
STELLLLLLLAAAAAA..... HEY STELLLLLAAAAAA....
Whoever you are, I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.
|
|
|
Post by Ish Kabbible on Jul 20, 2015 14:16:51 GMT -5
The Polar Express (2004) Tom Hanks
It reached the mid 90s with high humidity in NYC so it seemed a perfect time to check this item out finally. As far as the computer animation went, the train sequences were very good but the computerized human characters just seemed a bit creepy to me. Overall I was disappointed with this Robert Zemeckis film. There just wasn't much new as in concepts brought to the table. So Santa's north pole operation has some state of the art technology. What else is new. The very young kiddies out there should enjoy it but as an adult it was kind of forgetable
|
|
|
Post by Ish Kabbible on Jul 21, 2015 13:45:16 GMT -5
Demon Seed (1977) Julie Christie, Fritz Weaver
Scientist Fritz has invented the world's first independent-thinking super computer named Proteus. Fritz is a moron to think this will turn out well. And sure enough Proteus begins to question some of the commands the government gives him. When Fritz goes to a business conference for a few weeks, Proteus hooks into Fritz's computerized home. Proteus then traps Fritz's wife, Julie Christie , and performs some medical probes on her prone body. Proteus decides to impregnate Julie for the next step in computer evolution. Has Ultron ever tried this?
Adapted from a Dean Koontz novel, its an entertaining bit of 70s SF fluff
|
|
|
Post by Ish Kabbible on Jul 21, 2015 13:50:52 GMT -5
Akira (1988)
Should I be shameful to admit I abandoned this animated feature hallway through? Yes, its beautifully designed and animated, I'll give it that. But 25 years after its debut, its a very derivative story and somewhat headache inducing as well. The story is not told well, the voices began to grate on me and had to say bye-bye. I read the ending was very cryptic too so I don't feel it was worth seeing it to the end
|
|
|
Post by Ish Kabbible on Jul 22, 2015 11:29:21 GMT -5
Monsters Inc. (2001)
Simply a wonderful Pixar animated movie. Clever plot, great humor and animation, quick pace and fantastic voice-work from John Goodman, Billy Crystal, Steve Buscemi et. al. Great for all ages. And thankfully no sequels that I know of
8 1/2 (1963) D-Federico Fellini Marcello Mastroianni, Claudia Cardinale
A movie director is having an inner crisis with doubts about his upcoming movie and casting as well as the female relations he's had through out his life
A tough film for me to totally enjoy. Lots and lots of characters and disjointed sequences bouncing around the life of Guido the director. Parts of the film is head scratching, parts are wonderful. Always visually compelling. Worth while to view to make up your own mind but be prepared to be challenged
|
|
|
Post by Slam_Bradley on Jul 22, 2015 11:36:24 GMT -5
Monsters Inc. (2001)
Simply a wonderful Pixar animated movie. Clever plot, great humor and animation, quick pace and fantastic voice-work from John Goodman, Billy Crystal, Steve Buscemi et. al. Great for all ages. And thankfully no sequels that I know of
Monsters University. I hate to burst your bubble. Though I guess technically it's a prequel.
|
|
|
Post by Ish Kabbible on Jul 22, 2015 13:41:55 GMT -5
Monsters Inc. (2001)
Simply a wonderful Pixar animated movie. Clever plot, great humor and animation, quick pace and fantastic voice-work from John Goodman, Billy Crystal, Steve Buscemi et. al. Great for all ages. And thankfully no sequels that I know of
Monsters University. I hate to burst your bubble. Though I guess technically it's a prequel. Well, I'm not surprised. That's Hollywood for you. I see according to IMDB hut came out in 2013 and has the same voice actors with a 7.4 rating which is decent. Not as good as the original but that's asking to much. Anyone here seen it?
|
|
|
Post by Roquefort Raider on Jul 22, 2015 14:16:42 GMT -5
Bullit (1968) with Steve McQueen and a Don Gordon whom I think would have been a pretty good Bruce Wayne.
I really liked the way the story was told, what with its red herrings and its ability to keep us guessing. It was also incredibly refreshing to see intelligent supporting characters in a film! The main character's boss trusts him and isn't a dick, a doctor who is asked a suspect question by an assassin reports it as soon as he's able to, the hero's girlfriend worries that his job will keep them apart but doesn't whine about it, and the bad guy had a pretty good plan all in all.
I really enjoyed this trip back to "my" time, too... a world with regular black phones, tape recorders, phone booths (although DNA tests might have been quite useful at one point).
|
|
|
Post by DE Sinclair on Jul 22, 2015 14:40:41 GMT -5
Monsters University. I hate to burst your bubble. Though I guess technically it's a prequel. Well, I'm not surprised. That's Hollywood for you. I see according to IMDB hut came out in 2013 and has the same voice actors with a 7.4 rating which is decent. Not as good as the original but that's asking to much. Anyone here seen it? I've seen it. Not surprisingly, not as good as the original. It's all about the two main characters from Monsters, Inc., Sully & Mike, in college. It's ok, doesn't embarrass the original movie, fairly predictable. If you've got a couple hours to kill and you can see it for free on cable, go ahead. But I wouldn't pay money to see it.
|
|
|
Post by Slam_Bradley on Jul 22, 2015 14:49:36 GMT -5
Well, I'm not surprised. That's Hollywood for you. I see according to IMDB hut came out in 2013 and has the same voice actors with a 7.4 rating which is decent. Not as good as the original but that's asking to much. Anyone here seen it? I've seen it. Not surprisingly, not as good as the original. It's all about the two main characters from Monsters, Inc., Sully & Mike, in college. It's ok, doesn't embarrass the original movie, fairly predictable. If you've got a couple hours to kill and you can see it for free on cable, go ahead. But I wouldn't pay money to see it. It's definitely one of Pixar's weaker movies. Not Cars bad...or Heaven Forbid Cars 2. But not great.
|
|
|
Post by batlaw on Jul 22, 2015 20:46:42 GMT -5
I personally really enjoyed monsters university. It's message was refreshing, unexpected and delightful for this day and age. Pixar hasn't made a "bad" film yet. Though by forcing sequels I imagine their streak will surely end. Cars 2 is their biggest misfire which didn't offer much by comparison.
|
|
|
Post by Ish Kabbible on Jul 25, 2015 15:55:40 GMT -5
A good, A bad and a bunch of others
Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (1963) Sophia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni
A winner of a slew of awards including an Oscar for best foreign picture. A trio of comedy stories dealing with sex. Sophia is at all peak of voluptuousness and she and Marcello make a great pair. All 3 stories are excellent but my favorite is the first.
Sophia is married to idler Marcello so she sells bootleg cigarettes. Unable to pay the fines they accumulate, its time for her to go to jail. Except the fact that Italy has a law that prevents pregnant women from being jailed until 6 months after the birth of the child. To avoid jail, she becomes pregnant just before its time to go. The family is growing and growing, Marcello is not getting enough sleep and suddenly can't perform in bed no longer. Now what?
You can't go wrong with Sophia in her prime
Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) A Disney animated feature. Totally predictable, by the book, one dimensional characters, and compared to my recently watched Pixar Monsters Inc. a total bore.
Viewed recently but nothing to say
Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) James Cagney. A movie to get America jazzed up for war Gentleman's Agreement (1947) Gregory Peck To understand anti-Semitism I must become a Jew too Captain Horatio Hornblower, R.N. (1951) Gregory Peck A British naval captain vs the French in the war against Napoleon
Two recent movies just released on DVD I whole heartily recommend
Ex Machina (2015) An intelligent SF film dealing with a independent thinking female automaton It Follows (2015) Zombie type people will follow you wherever you go to ultimately kill you if you are the victim of this curse. Better than that plot sounds
|
|